Longing for the kind of writing career that makes other writers envious? Maybe a regular gig where you're hobnobbing with Hollywood celebs, trekking through the mountains of China or living the "Sex and the City" life? Sure, some of the best jobs in journalism have glossy magazine cover appeal, but what...

In September 1961, the editors of Writer's Digest asked a handful of the world's greatest writers the following question: "What advice would you offer a person who aspires to a writing career?" Their answers follow:

More and more of today's writers are finding out that the most demanding people in their lives are no longer their editors, but their own family. How do you combine writing with house, kids, a spouse, meals, pets, dancing lessons, football practice and a thousand other things that eat away at...